Notre Dame’s media tour in New York City continued on Friday morning with head coach Marcus Freeman and sophomore cornerback Leonard Moore joining the Today Show.
MARCUS FREEMAN
On shouting ‘Here Come the Irish’ after wins:
“It was there before I got there. As you take the field, they play over the loudspeaker ‘Here Come the Irish.’ We take the field, so I think it's pretty simple to make that the title of the show (Peacock).”
On what it’s like having a camera crew following him and the team around all the time:
”Yeah, it took some convincing to think about all the cameras, the mics and the distractions. We really started to implement it last spring. It was a good trial run and it became like they were a part of the team, you didn't notice they were there. They feel like they were part of the staff and I think everybody kind of dropped their guards and it just became natural.”
On if he picked different words to use, knowing the cameras were always on him:
”Early, yeah, I did. But then it just again became natural and I said they might have to edit that.”
On moving forward from the national title game:
”There's valuable lessons you learn from previous experiences. And so I don't want to shy away from that. I often tell these guys that we have to remember the lessons that we learned from last year that got us to the point where we didn't achieve the ultimate goal, but we got pretty darn close.
“Now we have to use those lessons, but develop this 2025 team. It's a brand new team. Some guys were here, some guys were not, but we have to go through our process to build us back up and let's get ready for the ‘25 season.”
On the structure of the College Football Playoff:
”I'll let the higher-ups figure out if 12 is the number - 16, or 18. I was asked who most benefited from the expanded playoffs. It's teams five through whoever, right? In the past, only having two teams or four teams, those are the only ones that can compete. Now you have teams 5-12 right now that have a chance to compete and it gives everybody an opportunity.”
On if he feels pressure being the head coach at Notre Dame:
”I don't think it's added pressure. The pressure you put on yourself is to help mold and help young people grow and reach their goals as football players and as men. It's a reminder of the opportunity you have. The people that love Notre Dame football, that love the University of Notre Dame, it's a reminder of you're in an unbelievable platform, in an unbelievable position, and don't take it for granted.”
LEONARD MOORE
On if having the cameras around all the time changes the way he plays:
”Not at all. It's definitely cool having an opportunity to have our stories told and be just more than football players. I feel like as a team, as a whole, we all really didn't notice the cameras. We focused on what we focused on and got our business done.”
On having his childhood battle with epilepsy featured on this season’s Peacock series and if it’s something he thinks about before a game:
”I don't necessarily think about it a lot, but I feel like it's something I remind myself of every time I go out on the field, because God has blessed me to be in a position to not be affected by epilepsy any longer. I feel like it's just a good thing to have, just to let me know I can still go out there and have fun and do what I love.”
On what it’s like playing for Notre Dame:
”I feel like every time you go out there, especially pregame, doing the player walk, stuff like that, even coming out to the stadium. You see how blessed you are just to be in a position where you have all those eyes on you and all those people who love you and all those people who want to see you put on that gold helmet and go out there and ball.”
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